Malaysia shootings surge: Sarawak businessman gunned down

A businessman from Kuching, capital of the Malaysian state of Sarawak, was shot dead during a visit to neighbouring state Sabah at a car park in front of a restaurant in Beverly Hills district, Kota Kinabalu on August 3.

The victim has been identified as Teong Choon Kwong, 44, who operated a resort in Dinawan, Sabah. Police said is was a drive-by shooting “from a small white vehicle, fired a short at close range.”

The reason for the killing had still to be determined, police said. It was learned that Teong, a resident of Chinese descent, also ran several computer-linked businesses in Sabah.

The shooting incident increased concerns over a surge in gun violence after Prime Minister Najib Razak scrapped a law used to tackle hard-core criminals. Since July 26, there have been at least 10 public shooting incidents in Malaysia, leaving five people dead including Hussain Ahmad Najadi, the 75-year-old founder of Ambank.

Malaysia has not seen that many fatal shootings since a communist insurgency in the late 1950s and 1960s, experts say.

Meanwhile, the spate of shooting cases “does not make Malaysia an unsafe country,” said Malaysia’s Inspector-General of Police Khalid Abu Bakar.

“I would like to urge Malaysians to put their trust in the police force to solve these cases.”

A businessman from Kuching, capital of the Malaysian state of Sarawak, was shot dead during a visit to neighbouring state Sabah at a car park in front of a restaurant in Beverly Hills district, Kota Kinabalu on August 3.

The victim has been identified as Teong Choon Kwong, 44, who operated a resort in Dinawan, Sabah. Police said is was a drive-by shooting “from a small white vehicle, fired a short at close range.”

The reason for the killing had still to be determined, police said. It was learned that Teong, a resident of Chinese descent, also ran several computer-linked businesses in Sabah.

The shooting incident increased concerns over a surge in gun violence after Prime Minister Najib Razak scrapped a law used to tackle hard-core criminals. Since July 26, there have been at least 10 public shooting incidents in Malaysia, leaving five people dead including Hussain Ahmad Najadi, the 75-year-old founder of Ambank.

Malaysia has not seen that many fatal shootings since a communist insurgency in the late 1950s and 1960s, experts say.

Meanwhile, the spate of shooting cases “does not make Malaysia an unsafe country,” said Malaysia’s Inspector-General of Police Khalid Abu Bakar.

“I would like to urge Malaysians to put their trust in the police force to solve these cases.”